Remember When Jason Aldean Made His Grand Ole Opry Debut?

Jason Aldean is one of the biggest superstars in country music, but he was just a young artist looking for a break when he debuted on the Grand Ole Opry on May 13, 2005.

Aldean hadn't even released his self-titled first album when he made his debut on the hallowed Opry stage. The freshman artist performed two songs from that project, "Hicktown" and "Why." "Hicktown" was already in release at country radio, and would eventually peak at No. 10 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. He released his debut album in July of 2005.

"I’m excited to be able to perform on the same stage that so many artists who I look up to have played on before," Aldean said at the time. "It’s an honor to have been asked to play on the Grand Ole Opry."

Aldean has since built a career as one of the biggest artists in country music, and he routinely performs in the biggest arenas and stadiums in the country. But he still likes to perform on the more intimate stage at the Opry, something he feels is important.

"It’s still a cool thing to go and do. Anytime you’re up there on that stage and you’re in that circle, you start thinking about everybody that’s been there," the superstar tells Radio.com.

"It’s definitely something that’s still relevant and something I think that’s important for us to keep that tradition going. You never know, at some point that will probably be home to a lot of us, where we’ll be playing there a lot. Hopefully at the end of our careers, later on down the road, there’ll be a few of us over there still carrying the torch."